The Scotland blog + Architecture | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog+artanddesign/architecture
Indexen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2017Fri, 18 Aug 2017 05:08:08 GMT2017-08-18T05:08:08Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2017The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
St Peter's seminary – its ruins remade by rippling, spectral lighthttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2016/mar/22/st-peters-seminary-its-ruins-remade-by-rippling-spectral-light
<p>The wrecked modernist seminary near Glasgow has been transformed for just 10 nights by the public artists NVA, rebuilt with light and sound <br></p><p>St Peter’s Seminary, a ruinous masterpiece of religious modernism near the northern shores of the Clyde, is being remade. Not with concrete, steel and glass, but by light and amplified sound. And all of it orchestrated under cover of darkness in the woodlands of Kilmahew Estate near Cardross. </p><p>The <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jan/17/st-peters-seminary-glasgow-second-coming-for-scotlands-modernist-masterpiece">former seminary</a>, built a full 50 years ago by Gillespie, Kidd &amp; Coia, has been chosen for the launch of the <a href="https://www.foa2016.com/">2016 Festival of Architecture</a>, orchestrated by <a href="http://nva.org.uk/">the environmental and public artists NVA</a>. Its ten-night long production Hinterland has been sold out, and ticket holders travelling in expectation of floodlighting and grandstanding will leave disappointed. <br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2016/mar/22/st-peters-seminary-its-ruins-remade-by-rippling-spectral-light">Continue reading...</a>ArchitectureScotlandArt and designCultureUK newsTue, 22 Mar 2016 07:30:32 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2016/mar/22/st-peters-seminary-its-ruins-remade-by-rippling-spectral-lightPhotograph: Alaisdair SmithPhotograph: Alaisdair SmithHayden Lorimer2016-03-22T07:30:32ZGoodbye to Cockenzie power station, a cathedral to coalhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2015/sep/24/goodbye-to-cockenzie-power-station-a-cathedral-to-coal
<p>One of the most emblematic features of East Lothian’s landscape, Cockenzie power station will be blown up on Saturday, its twin towers and turbine hall erased by the shift to clean energy and an unsentimental planning system. <br></p><p>The end is nigh for <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/mar/06/scotland-architecture-cockenzie">Cockenzie power station in East Lothian</a>. At 12 noon on Saturday, the distinctive twin chimneys will buckle and fall; a second explosion will bring down the steel turbine hall. <br></p><p>Nothing can save them now: all that’s left to do is make our lament and find a good spot to watch the spectacle. It is not often that an entire landscape changes with the press of a button, but when the dust finally settles over Port Seton, the view east from Edinburgh will reveal an even horizon. <br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2015/sep/24/goodbye-to-cockenzie-power-station-a-cathedral-to-coal">Continue reading...</a>ScotlandArchitectureCoalModernismUK newsEdinburghEnergyEnvironmentArt and designThu, 24 Sep 2015 06:30:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2015/sep/24/goodbye-to-cockenzie-power-station-a-cathedral-to-coalPhotograph: Murdo MacleodPhotograph: Murdo MacleodFraser MacDonald2015-09-24T06:30:01ZSt Peter's seminary, a 'glorious' gem given new life in the woodshttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2013/dec/10/scotland-architecture-stpeters-seminary
Now a ruined, ransacked shell, lottery money has given the modernist masterpiece of St Peter's seminary the hope of a new start as The Invisible College, writes <strong>Hayden Lorimer</strong> of Glasgow university<p>It used to be said that St. Peter's Seminary, near Cardross, is "where modernism crawled up a hill to die." An ungenerous view perhaps, but this iconic structure, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prospect_100_best_modern_Scottish_buildings">once voted Scotland's best modern building</a> by the architecture magazine Prospect, has been reduced to little more than a skeleton. </p><p>But the news announced last week of a major grant award from the Heritage Lottery Fund to <a href="http://www.nva.org.uk/">the arts organisation NVA</a> may signal new life in the nation's most notable twentieth century ruin, and the landscape surrounding it. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2013/dec/10/scotland-architecture-stpeters-seminary">Continue reading...</a>ScotlandUK newsArchitectureBuildings at riskEducationTue, 10 Dec 2013 12:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2013/dec/10/scotland-architecture-stpeters-seminaryPhotograph: NVASt Peter's seminary in Cardross, near Glasgow, could be rescued from ruin by the 'Invisible College' project. Photograph: NVAPhotograph: NVASt Peter's seminary in Cardross, near Glasgow, could be rescued from ruin by the 'Invisible College' project. Photograph: NVAHayden Lorimer2013-12-10T12:30:00ZScotland's modernist buildings die another death as Inverkip's vast chimney fallshttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2013/jul/26/scotland-modernist-inverkip
On Sunday the tallest structure in Scotland will fall as a controlled explosion destroys Inverkip power station's stack and with it another gem of Scotland's disappearing modernist architecture<p>If any residents on the Firth of Clyde consider retiring to bed early on Sunday night, they may find that their slumber is disturbed by an apparently tectonic upheaval.</p><p>A few enthusiastic witnesses will peer through the gloaming at 10pm to watch the demolition of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-23160478">Inverkip Power Station's colossal stack</a>, a structure which, until that moment, enjoys the distinction of being the tallest freestanding building in Scotland. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2013/jul/26/scotland-modernist-inverkip">Continue reading...</a>ScotlandArchitectureUK newsModernismFri, 26 Jul 2013 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/scotland-blog/2013/jul/26/scotland-modernist-inverkipPhotograph: Simon Butterworth/Getty ImagesInverkip huge stack - the tallest freestanding structure in Scotland, will be demolished in a controlled explosion Photograph: Simon Butterworth/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Simon Butterworth/Getty ImagesInverkip huge stack - the tallest freestanding structure in Scotland, will be demolished in a controlled explosion Photograph: Simon Butterworth/Getty ImagesFraser MacDonald2013-07-26T09:00:00ZLet's keep Cockenzie, Scotland's modernist cathedral of powerhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/mar/06/scotland-architecture-cockenzie
It is a design classic which dominates the skyline of East Lothian like a medieval cathedral, but later this month Cockenzie power station will shut down: it should be fully preserved for future generations, its iconic chimneys included<p>I love Cockenzie Power Station. As far as I am concerned, it does not have a best side. It is dirty and modern and boxy and symmetrical and I love it from every angle.</p><p>Few towns are so dominated by a single modernist building as Cockenzie on the Firth of Forth; its power station carries itself like a medieval cathedral towering over its hinterland. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/mar/06/scotland-architecture-cockenzie">Continue reading...</a>ScotlandUK newsArchitectureWed, 06 Mar 2013 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/mar/06/scotland-architecture-cockenziePhotograph: Murdo Macleod/GuardianCockenzie power station in East Lothian: 'simple shapes and contrasts, unfussy and clean'. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the GuardianPhotograph: Murdo Macleod/GuardianCockenzie power station in East Lothian: 'simple shapes and contrasts, unfussy and clean'. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the GuardianFraser MacDonald2013-03-06T08:00:00ZDumped: £15m plan to redevelop Glasgow's George Square dropped after popular backlashhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/21/glasgow-georgesquare-saved
Glasgow council has taken a surprise decision to entirely drop proposals for a £15m plan to redevelop George Square outside its city chambers, and give it a facelift instead<p>Glasgow City Council has scrapped <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/11/glasgow-george-square">controversial plans</a> to radically redevelop the city's George Square in the face of outspoken opposition from residents and opposition parties.</p><p><a href="http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=9632">In a statement</a> the council said that the proposed £15m revamp would not go ahead and the square would receive a less costly and dramatic revamp, which the council insists will still be a "substantial facelift".</p><p>The people of Glasgow have made it clear in no uncertain terms that they do not want a radical redesign of the square.</p><p>They want the square to look better and be a place of which they can be proud - a place they can while away a sunny afternoon or get together and celebrate the big occasions in the life of the city.</p><p>This is an example of people power at its best, and it's a tremendous victory for everyone who signed the petition, wrote letters and took to social networks to express their opinions.</p><p>I haven't received a single letter or email expressing support for the redesign plans. It's clear that the people of Glasgow did not want a radical redesign, and thankfully Gordon Matheson has finally listened to them.</p><p>This whole process has been a farce from the beginning.</p><p>If there had been a proper consultation from the start then the council wouldn't be dealing with this mess. How much money has already been spent just putting the shortlist together?</p><p>The entire process for the redevelopment of George Square has been a farcical vanity project led by Gordon Matheson. The consultation process was flawed from the start by the council leader's determination to remove the famous statues in the square, minimise grassed areas in the city centre and continue his obsession with water features. </p><p>The people of Glasgow have had next to no formal input into this decision, which makes a mockery of Labour's manifesto commitment to listen to local communities. Gordon Matheson's volte face cannot hide his poor judgement in leading a limited public consultation on the proposals.</p><p>Our cause has won out, and I have to commend Gordon Matheson's decision to listen to the people of Glasgow.</p><p>The one lesson that the council should take from this is that if you don't properly consult the public you're going to be faced with a massive, massive backlash.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/21/glasgow-georgesquare-saved">Continue reading...</a>ScotlandUK newsArchitectureGlasgowRegenerationCitiesMon, 21 Jan 2013 19:17:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/21/glasgow-georgesquare-savedPhotograph: AlamyGeorge Square, Glasgow, now to given a facelift and resurfaced, after £15m rebuild plans are dropped Photograph: AlamyPhotograph: AlamyGeorge Square, Glasgow, now to given a facelift and resurfaced, after £15m rebuild plans are dropped Photograph: AlamyOwen Duffy2013-01-21T19:17:03ZMusicians and artists rally to save Glasgow's modern stone circlehttps://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/18/glasgow-sighthill-stones
It was the first stone circle to be built in Britain in 3,000 years, Margaret Thatcher hated it, but now Glasgow council wants the Sighthill megalithic demolished to help its bid for the 2018 youth Olympics<p>A diverse coalition of campaigners - the musicians Julian Cope and Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite amongst them - are fighting to save the first astronomically aligned stone circle to be built in Britain in 3000 years.</p><p><a href="http://www.sighthillstonecircle.net/index.asp">Sighthill Stone Circle</a>, which sits in the heart of post-industrial Glasgow, has an obvious kinship with Britain's other megalithic sites like Stonehenge and Callanish.</p><p>I gave it a second thought because I knew it would disrupt my writing – which it did.</p><p>Over a thousand local children were given the day off school to watch the airlift. It really was quite a spectacle.</p><p>Six days after the election, I remember our shop steward coming in and saying that he had just heard Thatcher on the radio: 'we shall be restoring full employment by the end of 1980 and there will be no more nonsense like the Glasgow Parks astronomy project'.</p><p>The potential to bring people to the area is huge. It's just ten minutes walk from the city centre.</p><p>What city in the world would have a stone circle and not even have a sign saying what it is? There is a political aspect to it too. Letting it be destroyed would be like letting Thatcher win – a victory of despair over hope.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/18/glasgow-sighthill-stones">Continue reading...</a>ScotlandUK newsArchaeologyArchitectureCultureGlasgowLife and styleCitiesFri, 18 Jan 2013 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/18/glasgow-sighthill-stonesPhotograph: Duncan LunanLily Forbes memorial at the Sighthill standing stones in Glasgow, winter solstice 2009 Photograph: Duncan LunanPhotograph: Duncan LunanLily Forbes memorial at the Sighthill standing stones in Glasgow, winter solstice 2009 Photograph: Duncan LunanFraser MacDonald2013-01-18T08:00:00ZV&A at Dundee plans gets much-needed but modest private funding boosthttps://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/17/vanda-dundee-private-donors
Some three years after it was launched, the ambitious plan to spend £45m building a new design museum hosting parts of the V&amp;A's collection in Dundee has its first private donations but a major sponsor remains elusive.<p>The delayed project in Dundee to build <a href="www.vandaatdundee.com">a new outpost for the V&amp;A</a> museum and a new centre for Scottish design has edged further forwards, with the first batch of private donations towards its £45m cost.</p><p>The scheme, based on a dramatic design by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, was first unveiled in January 2010 and due to open in 2014; that date has now slipped by at least a year as the scheme's backers in Dundee struggled to raise money against the gravitational force of the worldwide recession.</p><p>...iconic building, created of two separate structures arching up to meet each other will be built within two pools of water, reinforcing the connection between the building and the River Tay.</p><p>The private donations announced today mean the project is well on its way to achieving the £45million fundraising target.</p><p>We are absolutely delighted to be able to make this announcement and are extremely grateful to those individuals and organisations who are supporting the project. It is a wonderful show of confidence in V&amp;A at Dundee.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/17/vanda-dundee-private-donors">Continue reading...</a>ScotlandUK newsArchitectureCultureDesignV&AMuseumsCorporate sponsorshipThu, 17 Jan 2013 13:04:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/17/vanda-dundee-private-donorsPhotograph: GuardianAn artist's impression of the redesigned V&A Dundee building, due to sit beside Capt Scott's Antarctic exploration ship RSS Discovery Photograph: GuardianPhotograph: GuardianAn artist's impression of the redesigned V&A Dundee building, due to sit beside Capt Scott's Antarctic exploration ship RSS Discovery Photograph: GuardianSeverin Carrell, Scotland correspondent2013-01-17T13:04:38ZJury split on controversial Glasgow George Square redesign planshttps://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/17/glasgow-georgesquare-jury-split
An announcement on which of six proposals for the controversial £15m redesign of Glasgow's best known civic square is postponed, after the jury fails to agree a winner<p>Glasgow city council's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/11/glasgow-george-square">controversial plans</a> to radically redevelop the city's George Square have been thrown into further disarray after the jury appointed to select the final design failed to come to a decision.</p><p>The panel was given <a href="http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=9594">a shortlist of six designs</a> to choose from, which council leader Gordon Matheson has said will create a civic space "fit for the 21st century." </p><p>As you are aware, the jury which will choose the design for the refurbishment of George Square has been meeting this week. </p><p>It's disappointing, but it's important that we get this right. We will make a decision next week.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/17/glasgow-georgesquare-jury-split">Continue reading...</a>ScotlandUK newsArchitectureGlasgowCitiesThu, 17 Jan 2013 12:03:25 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2013/jan/17/glasgow-georgesquare-jury-splitPhotograph: Michael McQueen /GettyGeorge Square, Glasgow, site of historic popular protests and new ones Photograph: Michael McQueen /GettyPhotograph: Michael McQueen /GettyGeorge Square, Glasgow, site of historic popular protests and new ones Photograph: Michael McQueen /GettyOwen Duffy2013-01-17T12:03:25ZUnion Terrace Gardens: 'Aberdeen saved from certain financial embarrassment'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2012/aug/27/scotland-northern-ireland-extra-architecture
Last week's narrow defeat for the City Gardens scheme left Aberdeen bitterly divided but protest leader <strong>Mike Shepherd</strong> argues the city needs to heal the divisions and regenerate its historic Victorian gardens<p>Last Wednesday, Aberdeen council <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/union-terrace-gardens-development-that-divided-aberdeen-is-thrown-out-by-two-votes-1-2482425">rejected the City Garden project</a>, the controversial plan to replace a Victorian park in the centre of Aberdeen with a modern park and buildings. The existing park, Union Terrace Gardens, had been designed by the architects who also built many of the granite buildings for which Aberdeen is famous.</p><p>The project had been <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/12/aberdeen-city-garden-project">controversial from the start</a>. It had been proposed by local oil tycoon Sir Ian Wood, who had promised to invest £50 million in the scheme providing his strict conditions for the basic design of the new park was met. He had also asked for £70 million of public money to part-fund his project. </p><p>You can't get the beggars to come up here, and once you do, you can't get them out again.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2012/aug/27/scotland-northern-ireland-extra-architecture">Continue reading...</a>ScotlandArchitectureCitiesMon, 27 Aug 2012 21:46:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2012/aug/27/scotland-northern-ireland-extra-architecturePhotograph: PRThe Aberdeen City Garden project: 'something very special has survived for the enjoyment of future generations'Photograph: PRThe Aberdeen City Garden project: 'something very special has survived for the enjoyment of future generations'Mike Shepherd2012-08-27T21:46:00ZUnion Terrace Gardens: vote against City Gardens 'a fudge and a failure'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2012/aug/27/aberdeen-city-gardens-mistake
Aberdeen council's narrow decision to vote down the £140m City Gardens project was a mistake and a political failure, argues <strong>Dan McCroskrie</strong>, who spoke out to defend the scheme in last week's vote<p>The <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/12/aberdeen-city-garden-project">debate over the</a> City Gardens project raged on for just over three years. After a consultation exercise, a positive vote of confidence by the previous SNP/Liberal Democrat administration of Aberdeen City council and a city-wide public referendum which showed 54% of Aberdonians backed the City Gardens, 22 councillors <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-19348330">voted it down</a> and the tax incremental financing (TIF) application to pay for it, in favour of <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/CouncilNews/ci_cns/pr_UTG_220812.asp">alternative projects</a> and a new TIF application – which doesn't yet exist. </p><p>In short, a great project that was financially competent and had been prepared over a three year period, was fudged by proposal that took its creator, Independent Alliance councillor Marie Boulton, a couple of weeks to prepare.</p><p>The key losers are Aberdeen's present and future citizens, and I honestly believe future generations looking back on Aberdeen's oil era will wonder why on earth, after years of under-investment in our city centre – parts of which are clearly in decline – our city council failed to grasp the opportunity to do something transformational and enhance their legacy.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2012/aug/27/aberdeen-city-gardens-mistake">Continue reading...</a>ScotlandArchitectureCitiesMon, 27 Aug 2012 21:43:49 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2012/aug/27/aberdeen-city-gardens-mistakePhotograph: PRAberdeen City Garden project: 'a great project that was financially competent'Photograph: PRAberdeen City Garden project: 'a great project that was financially competent'Dan McCroskrie2012-08-27T21:43:49Z